Moments
by darkestboy
Summary: The Doctor and Donna end up on a world with a creature that wants them for dinner. Set between The Unicorn And The Wasp and Silence In The Library.


**Name: **Moments  
**Characters:** 10th Doctor, Donna Noble, Wilfred Mott, Sylvia Noble, Jenny, Lance Bennett, Original Characters  
**Synopsis:** Every person, place, planet leaves a mark in time but what if all that was taken away? When the Doctor and Donna crash in the middle of nowhere, a creature in the midst is not only determined to keep them apart but also has plans to erase them forever. Set between _The Unicorn And The Wasp_ and _Silence In The Library_ and will also reference _Beautiful Chaos_.

"Look at the stars, Donna," the Doctor said, pointing to one of the shiniest bodies in the sky. It was a sight to behold, one that was always better when shared with another person.

"Which one?" Donna asked, given that there were literally millions to focus on and that some stood out more than others.

"That one," the Doctor smiled. "The Eye Of Orion. More beautiful when it's seen up close."

Both of them were by the door of the TARDIS. It was open but they were protected by the field surrounding the ship. It had been hours since their adventure with Agatha Christie. Stargazing was something Donna usually reserved for her grandfather but with the Doctor, she was close enough to see a star in all its beauty. That was something only others could dream about but yet, she was here witnessing it. She had come a long way from being a humble temp in Chiswick.

"Wish granddad could see this," Donna said, impressed with the heavenly sight. "He would love it. All his life, he's wanted to see the stars like this."

"He would," the Doctor smiled, thinking of Wilfred. "Both him and Netty. Someday, I'll get him in this ship. Maybe your mother too."

"You'll have a long wait for that one," Donna snorted. Sylvia had made it clear enough that she didn't share Wilfred's acceptance of the Doctor.

Donna smiled, thinking of the woman who had recently won her grandfather's heart. During a recent altercation with Madam Delphi, it had been Netty's mental state that saw off the vengeful Mandragora. For a moment, Donna had feared that Netty was going to be a casualty but the Doctor knew what he was doing. He usually did, even if when it looked like he didn't have a clue. It didn't stop her from being scared at times. He was the most wonderful man she had ever met but also the most unpredictable.

Noticing that she was lost in her thoughts, the Doctor looked at his latest travelling companion wistfully. A year and a half ago, Donna wanted nothing to do with travelling in time and space and he didn't want to risk travelling with another person he could lose.

Things had changed for both of them in that time, making the need to be the other's emotional anchor more prominent. Donna had told him during the death of the Racnoss that he could stop and later that he needed someone to stop him. A part of her was right but he also needed someone to keep him going as well. Then Donna gave him a wry look.

"So, Spaceman are we gonna look at stars all night or do you plan to wow me with some tropical terrain?"

"Always beaches with you, Donna," the Doctor smiled as they both took a final glimpse at Orion before closing the door.

"I've been travelling with you for months and the only time I got anything remotely heated was when we were inside Vesuvius," Donna chided him as they both headed for the console. "I think a nice beach on some far off planet isn't too much to ask."

The Doctor took a breath and sighed mockingly. "Okay, one beach and just because I'm a generous mood."

Donna smiled and gave him a funny look. "Yeah, yeah, just get on with it, Skinny boy."

Before the Doctor could touch the console, he was struck with a stinging shock to his hand. Donna found herself also struck. Both of them moved and looked at the console warily.

"Ouch," the Doctor said, cocking his eyebrows. "That's never happened."

"Maybe she's as temperamental as you are," Donna replied, rubbing her hand. She'd let him touch it again.

"Let me try again," the Doctor replied, only this time, he felt a chill in the air before touching a freezing lever that then returned to normal in a blink of an eye.

"Doctor," Donna said warningly as her eyes focused on the walls of the TARDIS, the coral being replaced with ice blue before returning back to their usual coral visage. She looked perturbed as did the Doctor.

The Doctor didn't answer Donna. Instead a light struck from the console, sending both Time Lord and companion hurtling backwards, hitting the floors of the ship.

As the walls began to colour darker and darker before getting brighter and returning to their normal colouring, sparks flew from the console, keeping both the Doctor and Donna as far away from getting to the monitor as they could do.

"We're moving," the Doctor said as he could hear a familiar whirring sound. He then reached for one of the coral corners to hold on. "More accurately being pulled, hold on."

Donna didn't question him, she just grabbed another corner and held tightly. The ship vibrated violently, causing both the Doctor and Donna pain as they desperately held on for dear life, ignoring a variety of items that flew in the air. The orb containing the Carrionites whacked Donna in the back of the head. She winced in pain and annoyance.

"What the hell is going on?" Donna yelled at the Time Lord.

"I don't know," the Doctor yelled back, due to the shattering noise inside the whole ship. It felt like they were in a plane crash. He wondered if the velocity at which they were being pulled through time and space would end up ripping the ship apart. Bits of the floor were showing signs of cracking and at least two levers literally blew off the console, with one of them smacking the Doctor in his right shoulder.

Then after much holding on, the TARDIS had landed to it's destination with an almighty wallop. Had there not being extrapolating protection, the ship would've ripped apart with no survivors. Inside the Doctor and Donna were unconscious but breathing.

A couple of sparks petering out had roused the Doctor from his state of unconsciousness. He winced when opening his eyes and wiped the bloody scratch his forehead had received with a handkerchief as he rose to his feet.

He looked around. His ship was lucky to be in one piece, given what had just happened but he would definitely have to mend the console and bits of the walls and floors. Then he looked over, hearing a familiar moan.

"Donna," the Doctor rushed over and helped her to her feet. Donna was still disoriented but recognised the Doctor.

"Doctor," Donna came round, pulling away from the Doctor. She wiped her own scratched forehead with another handkerchief the Doctor had given. Then the both of them realised.

"Why is the TARDIS on its side?" Donna asked.

"I'm more curious as to where we are," the Doctor gave her a look before heading out the door with Donna coming slowly behind him.

"Wait up," she grunted, taking her time and still woozy from the crash.

When she got outside, the Doctor was standing there, not moving, not doing anything. He was still, mute, which worried Donna immediately.

"Doctor, what is it?" she said gently. "Where are we?"

"Nowhere," the Doctor said silently. "We're nowhere."

Before Donna could ask him what that meant, both of them were distracted by the TARDIS disappearing. Wherever they were, both the Doctor and Donna knew that they weren't going to be leaving in a hurry.

"Where's it gone?" Donna panicked, finding that she wasn't the only one to do so. The Doctor looked more frenetic than usual as he paced around the corner where his ship was a few seconds ago..

"Looks like someone was expecting us," the Doctor murmured. His ship was gone, almost like it never existed. This was beyond bad. "This is bad. This is really, really bad."

"I get that," Donna replied.

"Donna."

"What do we do now?" Donna asked, her voice crisp with annoyance. She was wondering how the Doctor was going to figure out what needed to be done next. "We don't even know where we are."

"Only one way to find out," the Doctor said silently before heading down a corridor with Donna following closely behind him as always. The pacing then became running as something urged them to go deeper down the corridors.

Wilfred Mott had been on the phone to Netty Goodheart for the best part of an hour. Sylvia had taken herself off to Suzette's for some afternoon lunch and gossip with the Wednesday club and Donna had phoned him a few hours ago, filling him in on meeting Agatha Christie, not leaving out any important detail. He had even managed to exchange a few sentences with the Doctor as well.

"I knew he was extraordinary but Agatha Christie." Netty sounded impressed on the other line. It was one of her good days. Wilfred was glad. "Was their aliens?"

"Donna said there was a reverend that turned into a giant wasp," Wilfred said. "Reminded me of Father Louis from when I was a boy."

"Oh, how so?"

"He was always a bit of a buzzkill," Wilfred said. "Sorry, poor joke."

"She's lucky that granddaughter of yours," Netty said. "Being able to see all the wonders of the universe with the Doctor. It makes you think. I used to think I'd see it all until that Mandragora proved me wrong."

Wilfred didn't answer Netty, he thought to himself and sighed. It did make him think. Donna had it lucky, the life she was now leading with the Doctor. The life she was choosing to lead. The Sontaran attack on Earth and the spaceships in the sky as well as the Mandragora might have highlighted the dangers of the Doctor's world but he knew from the way she had been and talked to him during those phone calls that there was nowhere else in the world Donna wanted to be. All that beauty and wonder, it was no wonder Donna had been drifting all those months before hooking up with the Doctor again.

"Wilfred, are you still there?" Netty asked nervously. His silence had alarmed her.

"Still here," Wilfred answered reassuringly. "Just remembering something from last Christmas. I met the Doctor. I didn't connect the dots until I saw him again with Donna."

Before Netty could ask Wilfred to further elaborate on what he had just said, she could hear his front door opening from her phone line.

"I'm back."

The front door had opened. Sticking his neck out, Wilfred could see that Sylvia had returned with a few shopping bags under her arms.

"In here, darling." Wilfred gestured to his daughter before focusing his attention on Netty. "I should go. I'll talk soon."

"Bye Wilfred," Netty said, hanging up, sitting alone in her house. It was a good day but the fear of forgetting was getting to her and she knew, a part of it was getting to Wilfred, even though he would tell her that it didn't.

"Has Donna phoned?" was the first thing Sylvia had asked when Wilfred came into the kitchen to help her put away the groceries.

There were times when he wished he could tell his daughter what Donna was really getting up with the Doctor. Where Donna was really going with the Doctor. All different worlds and times but for now, Donna had asked him to let Sylvia think that she was a PA for the Doctor because she figured that Sylvia wouldn't be able to handle the truth as well as he did.

From the look of Sylvia's face, Wilfred could tell that she missed her daughter terribly. It was part of the reason why Sylvia hadn't taken to the Doctor in the slightest. To her, the Doctor was the man who took her daughter away during one of the worst times. It had just been a year since Geoff's death. Sylvia was just about moving on but never forgetting her husband's passing.

"No," Wilfred lied, mainly because it was easier than having to be quizzed by Sylvia. "She will, though."

"I still don't understand what she sees in that Doctor," Sylvia muttered. "There are plenty of PA and temp jobs begging in all of London. Why take one with someone as unpredictable as him?"

"Maybe the rewards are worth it," Wilfred said. "You wanted her to do something productive with her life, love. She's finally doing it. Don't begrudge her, let her be."

"I'm not," Sylvia stammered, surprised by her father's last statement. "It would just be nice to know that she's safe."

"She's with the Doctor," Wilfred smiled. "I'd imagine that she's safe with him."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Sylvia said quietly before putting on the kettle. Wilfred just looked at his daughter.

"She's safe, alright," Wilfred murmured to himself.

The Hollow had been watching the strangers for long enough. It was intrigued by them. Many had visited its domain and none had left alive, many barely surviving an hour upon arrival.

The police box that was a spaceship should've been scrap with the strangers dead inside them but the strangers were needed alive. What they possessed couldn't be obtained if they were deceased. It was too vital for that. However the creature also couldn't take on both of them at once. It needed to separate them.

"Do you get that feeling?" Donna asked, shivering, holding herself together. She didn't like this place at all.

"What feeling?" the Doctor softly asked.

"It's gonna sound stupid," Donna began before he cut her off.

"If you're gonna say like we're being watched," the Doctor interrupted. "I wouldn't expect anything less. Someone out there has the TARDIS and probably wants us to."

"So, this is a trap?" Donna asked. "And we're supposed to what exactly, throw ourselves at the mercy of some beast?"

"No," the Doctor said determined. "It might have us at a disadvantage but that doesn't mean we have to surrender. I don't play the game of others."

"Good to know, Spaceman," Donna said. "So, all we have to is stick close and nothing can …"

The Doctor faded from her sight.

"Donna," he mouthed silently as he was being pulled away. Donna tried to grab him but he was long gone from her.

"Doctor," Donna yelled, looking around. She was alone.

"Donna," the Doctor yelled. He was alone but somewhere. It looked like where he had been with Donna but he knew it was different. What he didn't know was that there a familiar shadowy presence behind him, watching to make its move.

One minute they had walked down a hall while the next, Donna had realised that she was alone. The Doctor had literally vanished before her eyes.

"Doctor, this isn't funny," Donna said, perturbed, before it sank in. She was alone. "First the TARDIS, now you. Where am I?"

"Donna Noble," a shadowy voice had called out to her, its voice not remotely comforting. "In the furthest of places and she's still abandoned. He didn't take long to tire of your prattling then."

"Who said that?" Donna turned around, alarmed. "Show yourself. Whatever you are, I mean it, show yourself. I'm not scared."

"The tone in your voice would suggest otherwise," the voice called out. Donna could see the figure shrouded in darkness but she was unable to make out who or what was speaking to her. "I can smell the fear. You're going to drown in it."

"How are your senses because I think I can knock some back into when I get as far you?" Donna snorted angrily.

"I'm not scared of a stupid temp from Chiswick," the shadow snickered. "Are you scared of me?"

"I'm not the one hiding behind shadows. I reckon you're more scared than anyone of us here, mate," Donna bellowed angrily before daring the shadow. "Face me if you really aren't that afraid of me."

"I see your Doctor hasn't taught you well," the voice replied, this time sounding more familiar. "Then again, this is probably retribution. You both sent me to my own death. Now I can facilitate yours."

"Can't be," Donna said quietly, realising who the voice belonged. She realised that ever since her and the Doctor had gotten out of the TARDIS, there had been a chill in the air, more than stirring of past wounds. It was what she was going to say to the Doctor before he disappeared.

The man standing before her was a past wound. He once told her that he loved her and she believed him. He once told her that he wanted to marry her or at least and that was what he had wanted her to believe. The man had been dead for over a year. What was standing before her couldn't be him, not in the slightest.

"It's impossible," Donna stammered, moving nervously back. "You're dead."

"You travelled with the Doctor, you've seen enough things that defy belief," Lance smiled. "And I'm impossible? This is going to be fun. Come with me."

"I'm going nowhere with you," Donna said, standing her ground.

"I don't recall asking," Lance pointed out, extending. Against all of her better judgement, Donna took his hand and went with him, knowing that she would probably regret it.

The Doctor scanned around and shouted for Donna to the point of frustration. She was nowhere. He was nowhere. This place was nowhere. It wasn't even a place, a planet, it was nothing. He had been to dead planets, even witness the remnants of them floating around in space, all rubbles and gasses but this was something else.

"You're really lost, aren't you, Dad?" a female voice called out to him, stepping out from the shadows. He shuddered when he saw the woman in question.

"Jenny?" The Doctor turned around quickly. The woman who stood in front of him couldn't really be here. For one thing, she was dead. "How? You're dead."

"Come with me," Jenny smiled, extending her hand. The Doctor looked at her warily, before taking it, letting the phantom, whatever it was pretending to be his deceased daughter lead him down the path. A path he was certain wouldn't be a good thing but if it meant finding Donna, his TARDIS and figuring out what was going on, then he'd let himself be led.

They had been walking for the best part of ten minutes. Donna stayed behind the thing posing as Lance at all times. She shivered a little but did her best to show that she wasn't afraid of the creature in question.

"Christmas Eve, we were meant to get married." Lance smiled at his former fiancée. Donna wasn't impressed. "Don't you remember? It feels like yesterday to me."

"That was before you were going to give me to the Racnoss." Donna folded her arms, unimpressed. "I really did have a lucky escape with you, Lance."

"And you think that you'll be unscathed travelling with Daddy Long Legs, do you?" Lance threw back at her. "The man brings more trouble than the Racnoss ever could've done. Death, destruction, endless despair and you know it."

"And you didn't?" Donna retorted. "If you had succeeded, there would've been nothing left of the Earth. The Doctor stopped you. I stopped you. You can try and warn me all you like about how dangerous he is, I trust that man with my life."

"Then you're a fool, Donna Noble," Lance said silently. "But I get it — you want to see the universe. About time you realised there was more out there. When I was with you, the only thing you ever cared about was who was gonna win _The X-Factor_ or holidaying with Veena and the rest of the girls. You've changed. Still won't help you though."

"You haven't," Donna said. "Even in death you're still as nasty and cruel as you've ever been."

"He's gonna destroy you," Lance smirked. "Your precious Doctor, he's gonna destroy you. You're gonna burn up and die, Donna Noble. And he'll be gone."

"Stop it," Donna said. "I know what you're trying to do. Whatever you are, it won't work."

"What do you think I am, Donna?" Lance glared at her. "You've travelled with him long enough, what could I possibly be? A ghost? Your guilty conscience manifesting at the worst time?"

"You brought us here," Donna realised. "The TARDIS, you made it crash. You want us here. Well, I'm not something you can control. I'm gonna find the Doctor and we're both going to stop you."

"I'd wait if I were you," Lance smirked. "You're no good without that Doctor of yours."

"You're not me," Donna reminded him before turning to walk away. Before she could move, the thing posing as Lance grabbed her arm and turned her around.

"Get off me," Donna growled as the creature slammed her into a wall.

Donna struggled with the creature before it put it's hands on her temples and shocked the life out of her. Donna could feel her whole body convulsing, white light spearing through her violently, making the hairs in the back of her neck stand still. She screamed but words didn't come out of her mouth and the thing that looked like Lance had its own eyes go white with excitement.

Donna realised that it was feeding on her, siphoning her in some way. She could feel something from her body begin to drain. She looked at the creature and realised that it knew that she was aware of what was happening to her. The creature smiled at her malevolently.

"That's it, Donna Noble," the creature's voice said, no longer sounding like Lance but maintaining his form. "Open your mind. Let me see, everything."

Donna's head threw back and she blacked out, slumping to the floor as the creature let her go. It licked it's fingers, tasting the memories, the moments of this woman. This woman that was more extraordinary than she was aware of herself.

"He really does pick his companions well," the creature smiled as it lifted up Donna and dragged her off.

It should have finished off Donna there and then but during the little taster it had realised something rather vital. She was connected to him. The only way it could feed properly would be to gorge on both their moments, including those vital future ones where they'd merge.

Still, the creature decided that it could have some fun at the Noble woman's expense. A nice little trip into her mind would be perfect while it's faithful servant brought the Doctor to it.

The Doctor had been walking silently for ten minutes with the thing posing as his daughter. He was growing impatient and she was beginning to notice it as well.

"Aren't you going to ask me how I'm still alive?" Jenny had asked her father, as she walked with him, looking at him, smiling.

"Except you're not," the Doctor said grimly. "If you really were my daughter, I'd know."

"Because your perception skills are so finely attuned," Jenny said caustically. "You weren't able to detect the Master when he was campaigning as Harold Saxon. You've gone through several times where you were unable to hone in on the Daleks. For the Oncoming Storm, you can be somewhat dense. Donna should watch herself. She might get burnt."

"I can also be somewhat patient as well." The Doctor bared his teeth at the servant. "That's something you might want to bear in mind."

"Is this the part where you offer me one last chance to do the right thing before you commit genocide?" Jenny asked. "I'm not the Racnoss. You don't scare me."

"Who are you?" the Doctor asked, just about containing his frustration. He realised that he wasn't going to get anywhere by yelling at the creature, though he resented the idea of having to pander to it as well.

"All will be revealed soon enough," Jenny smiled. "Sorry for the crash landing. I guess had you been travelling in something else you and your lady friend would be dead by now."

"Where is Donna?" the Doctor asked, losing patience again. "If anything's happened to her."

"You'll see her soon enough," the servant posing as Jenny said, cutting him off. "Again, I'm not afraid of you, so any attempts of reminding me about your wrathful ways are a waste of my time and yours, Doctor."

"What happened to this city?" the Doctor said. "More to the point, this entire planet. This was a planet once, full of life, a species, an empire, etc. This place is … nothing."

"That's what I keep saying," the servant said nonchalantly. "We're here."

The Doctor stood at a black door, made of ebony and reluctantly opened it. As soon as he did, he was blinded the light, frozen still and start screaming. He couldn't pull away, his vision was fading, all that could be seen was bright and then he fell to the ground in a heap, slumped.

As the servant's vision of Jenny dropped into its original form, the creature that had been posing as Lance also morphed into its true guise. They smiled at each other.

"Get him on the table now," the Hollow had said to its companion. "There is very little time left."

"These are the ones," the servant said, excited, as it obeyed, dragging the Doctor and placing him on the table beside Donna. "Shall I bind them?"

"No need," the Hollow said. "Neither of them will survive long enough to pose a threat to us. The female is near death and he will soon follow."

"Then we'll be free," the servant said, barely containing its excitement.

"Yes," the Hollow replied. "The last Time Lord in existence and the female who would've aided his victory in the biggest battle in the universe will now free us both from the constraints of this planet. All I have to do is destroy them both mentally, obliterate their souls, absorb the fabrics of time and space and travels they've made. He will be a challenge but not impossible."

Before anything else could be said, the Hollow placed a hand on the Doctor's head and then another one on Donna's before closing his eyes and shooting more energy into them before absorbing of theirs into himself. He tingled as some of the Doctor's artron went through his bloodstream, giving him some extra spark in his body.

The Doctor woke up with a massive thud. He felt as if he had been dropped from the sky but didn't have time to compose his thoughts when Donna's sharp voice could be heard coming at him. Aside from that, he realised that he was in some kind of beach, with the skies burning and sparking horridly. There was thunder in the air, a violent storm approaching.

"Donna," the Doctor called out. "Where are you?"

"Doctor, run!"

That was all Donna could say as she ran frantically from the bolts of lightening that was coming from all sides towards her. Instead of running from the bolts, the Doctor ran to his companion, pulling her away from a potentially fatal shot that would've finished her off for good.

"I've got you," the Doctor said, smiling at her. "We've got to keep moving. We need to find a way out of here."

"How do we do that?" Donna asked frantically. "Doctor, we're stuck in some nightmare world. An actual nightmare world. How are we supposed to get out of this one?"

"There has to be some way out of here, I need to think," the Doctor said. "I promised your granddad that I'd keep you safe."

"Don't worry about that," Donna said reassuringly. "What can I do?"

"Then you should've kept a better promise," the Hollow smiled. "The Doctor-Donna. How nice to meet you both at last. Though I've had the pleasure of your company already, Miss Noble."

"And who are you?" Donna asked.

"I'm called the Hollow," the creature smiled, allowing it's skeletal features to be shown. It looked similar to the Grim Reaper but it's bones were bronze in their colouring. "You could also call me the Bringer of Death as well if you'd like."

"Well, you did destroy a whole planet," the Doctor said sadly. "That was you, wasn't it? I don't need to ask you, do I? What I do want to know is what you want me with us. Why bring us here?"

"I need to feed," the Hollow said simply before pointing at both the Doctor and Donna. "On you both."

"Gorging on your own planet wasn't enough for you?" Donna asked.

"It wasn't my planet," the Hollow said. "I was cast out by my own kind, restricted to the horrible world, enslaved by the people of it. This prison planet. My own world has been lost for many centuries."

"That's no excuse. What you've done violates the Shadow Proclamation and you know it," the Doctor reminded him.

"The Shadow Proclamation are the least of my worries," the Hollow said. "They fear me. As they should. As you and Miss Noble will do before drawing your last breaths."

"What are you?" the Doctor asked. "Why do you need to devour?"

"Do you really want to know?" the Hollow asked.

"Yes, I do," the Doctor said. "Besides wanting us as food, if getting off this planet is the one thing you really want more than that, I can help you. I can take you to a world where you don't have to do this. What do you say?"

"I decline," the creature said grimly. "You and Miss Noble are all I need now."

"I really wish you hadn't said that," the Doctor said, deflated. "Because now I will have to stop you."

The creature laughed for a few seconds. It realised that the Doctor really was deluded enough to think that he could stop it. He wasn't the first to assume that but he would soon regret his words. The arrogance of a Time Lord would die with him.

"Sorry, Doctor, but it is I who will stop you," the Hollow smiled viciously. "By the way, I'm the Hollow. Devourer of rarities such as you two will be the last to know."

Both the Doctor and Donna screamed even harder than before as more intense white light pulsated through them. Both could feel the memories of their adventures together being prized away by the creature in question. They screamed, trying desperately to retain themselves and their memories as they could feel themselves beginning to slowly fade away. The creature was growing stronger; it was going to win. They were going to die.

The Hollow could feel itself getting stronger, surging with energy like it never had consumed before. It was true what they said about Time Lords after all — this one was literally a banquet. And then the Hollow thought about the woman with the Doctor. She was mistaken in thinking herself to be so small when if circumstances were different, she would play a detrimental role in saving the universe. Now however her role would be in freeing the Hollow from its planetary prison.

The Doctor's mind flashed, stuttering him into a temporary paralysis. Painful memories were being revisited — the loss of so many, it was crippling him intensely. He was reliving the Time War again in even more painful detail than the actual event, hearing the screams, seeing the explosions, the death of his people, powerless to do anything but writhe in searing agony. And then he saw something or someone in the darkest corner of his mind. He did not recognise who or what they were.

"Doctor," a shadowy voice had called out to. It was a woman but the voice was unclear, though he could detect the pain in their strained, chilly voice. "Four times."

He had been trying to so hard to push the creature out, desperate to retain himself, struggling to blank the Hollow out but it had successfully broke down every barrier the Doctor had tried putting up. He could feel the life draining from him slowly.

_I need to fight this. I need to. If that creature succeeds, then the entire universe is done for. Donna!_

"She is returning, Time Lord," the Hollow whispered sweetly. "The Lost Girl buried beneath all those stars and impossibilities. And then …"

Donna had blacked out as well, her mind reaching to the most painful wound. She might have faced off so many monsters, seen the destruction of Pompeii and had her heart broken by the man she thought she was going to marry but there was one memory too painful that it brought her to her knees. It was the cruellest of them all.

"Donna," Sylvia had cried frantically down the phone. "It's your father."

"What about him?" Donna had said tersely, remembering the fight that she and Sylvia got into earlier in the day. "Come on, Mum, spit it out."

And then there was silence between both women. The silence that filled Donna with dread. The silence that had confirmed her worst fears.

"Mum," Donna said softly down the line. "Mum, what about Dad?"

"I," Sylvia had begun, stopping herself, the words unable to spill out. She didn't have to say what Donna had painfully realised. Her world crumbled.

"I'll see you in a bit," Donna had said, hanging up, her face smeared in tears. Veena was about to give her a hug but Donna stormed off, crying frantically as she headed for home.

When she saw her father lying dead in his bed, she collapsed into more floods of tears, drowning out the sounds of Wilfred comforting a grief stricken Sylvia.

"It was your worst day, Donna Noble," the Hollow had smiled chillingly. "All that pain, no matter how far you travel with that man, it'll never go away. Give into me, surrender your soul and set me free."

"No," Donna shrieked, fighting harder than she ever fought in her life. Reliving the memory was agony but she wasn't going to die. She was going to help the Doctor beat this thing.

"Leave her alone," the Doctor shrieked in fury. "I said, let her go."

"I have no intention of letting either of you go," the Hollow cackled. "Your souls, your everything for my freedom. The last of the Time Lords and his companion will die on this planet."

"No," the Doctor said determinedly. "We will not die. Not by you."

"You have no choice," the Hollow insisted. "Both of you are just aimless drifters, both so very alone, wandering through space looking for a way to escape your torments. My role may be to destroy but unlike you Doctor and Donna Noble, I do have a purpose. Now drown in your grief and surrender to me."

"Not anymore, Skeletor," Donna hissed. "If there's one thing I've learned, it's that I'm not alone. I've got him. The Doctor. And this is what we can do."

The defiance of Donna's voice distracted the Hollow long enough for her to grab the Doctor's hand tightly. Both were able to briefly look at each other before staring the Hollow down. The creature looked affronted before looking shocked and alarmed.

"What are you?" the Hollow asked, before it slumped to its knees, the energy it had been collecting began to drain out of it and back into the bodies of the Doctor and Donna Noble. "You can't," the Hollow shrieked angrily. "Nooooo!"

"I think you'll find we can," the Doctor smiled evenly at the creature before more light shone on all three of them. Within seconds both the Doctor and Donna awoke and pushed the Hollow's hands off their temples.

"You were so strong," the Hollow growled. "How can this be?"

"Time Lord," the Doctor smiled. "With a human."

"Not just any human," the servant growled angrily as it leapt towards Donna, underestimating her anticipation of an attack. Donna pushed it without blinking sending it hurtling back a few paces. "Something different about you, Donna Noble."

"You'll not leave this planet alive," the Hollow vowed. "You and your human will perish."

"I think you'll find that we will live and leave here," the Doctor said, pulling out a communication device. "I sent a little message to your people. It seems that they're not very happy with you draining other species dry. You've failed, now run."

"You lie," the Hollow growled.

"He rarely does," Donna smiled as she folded her arms, giving an aura of superiority. "I'd say you have about a ten minute head start before they get here."

"Even less than that," the Doctor said darkly. "If this was a different time, I might have even given you a second chance. Not anymore."

The Hollow glared at both of them with utter contempt. The Doctor knew well that it was powerless to leave this planet. Blood wise, it was bound to the near extinct world. It needed the essence of a Time Lord to fool the planet into letting it leave. Donna was presumably a starters course. It had failed.

"You win this one, Doctor-Donna," the Hollow continued to glare at the duo who had outsmarted it. "But don't think you're so lucky. I've been inside both of your heads. Your song is ending and that means for both of you."

Before the Doctor or Donna could ask what that had actually meant, the Hollow and its servant removed themselves from their view. Both looked forlorn before turning to each other.

"Doctor, what does that mean?" Donna asked. "That's what the Ood said about your song."

"Nothing," the Doctor said. "He lied. Our songs are not ending."

"Are you sure?" Donna asked, unsure of whether or not she believed the Doctor. "You can tell me anything, Doctor. You know that."

The Doctor didn't answer. For all it knew it could've been some feeble parting shot from the Hollow to spook the both of them. It also could've been something more serious as well, which the Doctor didn't want to contemplate. Then he realised something else.

"TARDIS?" The Doctor bounced excitedly as he heard a familiar hum. He grabbed Donna's hand and headed for the ship in a boyish hurry. Maybe their song was ending but it wasn't going to be today. Once inside the TARDIS, they left the planet quickly.

- The End -


End file.
